COMMENT | MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki recently issued a statement declaring that the eight videos allegedly involving Sabah assemblypersons cannot be used as evidence due to concerns over their credibility, saying they were edited.

This announcement sparked widespread public outrage and ridicule, with many Malaysians mocking the statement.

This controversy raised a serious question. As we can recall, the “Can I advise you something” voice recording could be accepted as evidence in the 2021 corruption trial involving former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor, why are videos - clearer and more comprehensive - being dismissed as unreliable?

In the Najib-Rosmah trial, the audio clip of a conversation between the two was used as evidence, with the voices identified as those of Najib and Rosmah by the former education minister.

If a simple audio recording can be valid, why are videos - showing the individuals involved, the amounts of money discussed, political support, and the purposes of the money - deemed to lack credibility?